Task: Here is a list of actions taken by Henry VII to deal with his problems.

You need to decide

which problems these actions helped to solve and copy and paste them into the appropriate
worksheet.

Hint: Actions could solve more than one problem – so be prepared to copy and paste some of
them more than once!!

John Morton: He was a gifted churchman and politician. He had previous experience of
administration at the court of Henry VI and Edward IV. He was Bishop of Ely, a cardinal from 1493,
and from 1486 -1500, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed Chancellor in 1486. Records
show that he was a present at most council meetings.

Marriage to Elizabeth of York was a political marriage designed to unite both houses of York and
Lancashire

Henry married Elizabeth on January 18 th 1486. Therefore, he could argue that his crown did not owe
anything to his marriage to Elizabeth. He was crowned in October 1485 and married some two-and-
a-half months later.

Henry kept very close tabs on Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset (stepson of Edward IV). For
example, he forced him to enter into bonds and recognisances, binding him to pay Henry large sums
of money if he ever misbehaved

Henry dated the time of his reign to the day before the Battle of Bosworth. Therefore, legally Richard
and those that had supported him could be classed as traitors. As such anyone deemed guilty of
treason could have all their property taken from them by an Act of Attainder. This was very
convenient for a new king as he became the recipient of this land. It also meant that nobles would
go out of their way to profess their loyalty to the king

1496: Magnus Intercursus, trade treaty that also closed the Netherlands to Henry’s dynastic rivals, a
major treaty, such as Margaret of Burgundy – the sister of Edward IV

Henry prevented the emergence of new super-nobles by keeping an eye on noble marriage alliances
to prevent any family becoming too powerful

Third, Henry arranged for his coronation to be before the first sitting of Parliament after Bosworth.
Henry was crowned on October 30th and Parliament met on November 7 th. Therefore Henry could
very publicly state that he did not need Parliament to declare him king as he was king before
Parliament met.
The most important person Henry had to deal with was the 10-year old nephew of Richard III, the
Earl of Warwick. Though only ten in 1485, he was still a figure that Yorkists could rally around.
Warwick was sent to the Tower where he lived in comfort though he was not allowed to leave the
fortress

Many of Henry's closest advisers were drawn either from the clergy (Bishop Richard Foxe, Lord Privy
Seal), or from the gentry (Reginald Bray and Giles Daubeney). These men of “lower” status owed
their position to Henry – he could fire them if they did not give him good service.

John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, had been named as Richard’s heir. However, he professed his loyalty
to Henry and this was sufficient for the king. He supported the Pretender Lambert Simnel and was
killed at the Battle of Stoke by Henry’s army

Duke of Northumberland, who had refused to fight for Richard at Bosworth, was imprisoned shortly
after Bosworth but was quickly released and allowed to continue with his old post in the north
where he had a great deal of power.

Senior York family members were required to pay a money to ensure their good behaviour. This
happened to Viscount Beauchmont

Henry did not tax harshly in times of peace. He probably realised that this would have been a bad
move in times of such political instability

1502 treaty of Perpetual Peace and marriage of James, King of Scotland to Margaret Tudor, daughter
of Henry VII.

Edmund Dudley: The main legal advisor to the corporation of London. An MP and Speaker of the
House of Commons. A leading figure in the Council Learned, President of the Council in 1506.
Evidence indicates that he became corrupt, and may have been involved in royal blackmail.

Some families had a family member attached to the royal court acting almost like a hostage for good
behaviour – this happened to the Earl of Westmorland.

Commerce was closely intertwined with national (and personal) security. security was always
Henry's main concern, and he was always ready to compromise commercial interests if by doing so
he could protect dynastic security. There are two clear examples of this. In 1493 he placed an
embargo on trade with the Netherlands because Maximilian was harbouring Perkin Warbeck.

1489, Medina del Campo: Spain closed to Yorkist pretenders and alliance with England.

At the end of his reign Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, were as powerful as they were
unpopular. Henry appointed them to detect money owed to crown and secure its payment.

Sir William Stanley had supported the Yorkists at the Battle of Blore Heath in 1459. When Richard III
became king he was was made Chief Justice of North Wales and given land. Having been loyal to
Richard, Stanley nevertheless changed sides in 1485, and suddenly supported the Lancastrian Henry
Tudor's bid for the throne. Stanley is best known for his action at the Battle of Bosworth, where he
decisively attacked the Yorkists under Richard, helping to secure Henry VII's victory.This was in
contrast to the non-committal attitude of his elder brother, Henry's stepfather, who was inhibited by
the fact that Richard held his son hostage. In gratitude for his timely intervention, the new king
bestowed many favours on Sir William, including the post of Lord Chamberlain and Chamberlain of
the Exchequer. However, in 1495 Stanley was convicted of treason and executed for his support of
the pretender Perkin Warbeck. Though the evidence was circumstantial, he admitted the offence in
the hope that through a full confession he would escape execution.Indeed, the King, partly to avoid
antagonizing his mother and stepfather, was at first inclined to spare Sir William's life. Yet ultimately
the King feared that by showing clemency, he would be endangering himself through encouraging
other potential conspirators. As a consequence, Sir William was condemned to death, and a few
days later, beheaded. (Hint: edit this down to the key facts for your sheet)

Henry arranged for all of the royal revenue to go directly to his chamber. By his death 80% of royal
income did go straight to the chamber. This allowed Henry to keep close tabs on his income and to
ensure that he was getting everything that the King was entitled to.

For Henry power, the extension of power and money all went together. A sound financial base was
essential if Henry was to control both his people but more especially the powerful nobility

Henry chose to have groups of nobles and men of gentle or knightly status in charge of an area,
rather than having one noble as magnate for a large area. Following 30 years of unrest, Henry
experienced only one serious rebellion in his 24-year reign: Cornwall.

1501, the marriage to Arthur and Catherine takes place. Arthur died in 1502
Henry promoted very few families to the ranks of the nobility - Henry only created one Earl
(compared to Edward IV’s nine) and five barons (compared to the thirteen of Edward IV). By doing
this he kept their numbers at a level he could handle. Because it was rare, competition to be
promoted was intense and relied on loyalty.

France 1492: Henry VII made a show of strength, offensive and defensive aims (asserted Henry V’s
claim to the French Crown). Invaded northern France with 26,000 men. Charles VIII’s (King of France)
eyes were turning to Italy, and his aim was to make a quick treaty. Treaty of Etaples by which Charles
VIII agreed to drop his support for the rebel Perkin Warbeck and other rebels, to indemnify the costs
of Henry’s interventions in Brittany, and to reimburse the arrears of Edward IV’s pension due by
1475 treaty.

The number of peers fell from 57 to 44 during Henry’s reign

Loyal nobles were also awarded the Order of the Garter, an ancient and prestigious honour. This
bestowed much status on the recipient but it cost Henry VII nothing

Henry also bolstered his strength at the expense of the nobility by keeping land that had belonged to
former peerage families. Valuable land that had belonged to the Yorkist families of Warwick,
Gloucester and Clarence remained in the hands of Henry. This served two purposes. First, it
increased the wealth of the king. Second, the nobles lived in hope that they might be rewarded with
some of these estates if they worked well for Henry.

Henry simply kept powerful nobles under surveillance using his very effective spy network

Henry saw the nobles as his main weapon in enforcing his authority in the regions and extended
local regional control to powerful and loyal magnates in areas considered to be potentially disloyal.
Loyalty was well rewarded and though Henry VII faced rebellions, when they are stripped down they
barely threatened his position.

Henry also used money as a way of maintaining loyalty. The nobles had to pay a certain sum of
money if they failed to complete written promises, based around what functions they would
perform in the areas they controlled. The lesser nobles paid a sum of £400 while the senior nobles
paid £10,000.

The Captain of Calais had to promise £40,000 to fulfil his duties.

“Loyalty and ability were Henry’s sole requirements in his most important servants; the King’s favour
had to be earned, it was not an automatic privilege of the upper class.” (Caroline Rogers)